Departures and Arrivals
by book-of-pages
Summary: Change is good. Change is needed. Moving from a small town in Washington to the Big Apple, Anthropologist Bella Swan gets herself in some very sticky situations. They say that murder can't lead to love, but could Bella Swan handle both? AH, dark themes, cannon couples, and nice dark dry senses of humor.
1. Prologue

Prologue

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." MLK Jr.

* * *

28 years of the same thing. 28 years of repetition from Sunday morning to Sunday night of the following week.

This town that no one has ever heard of, just like a tiny speck of dust on the map, in Washington State. Living in Forks has its advantages and disadvantage; suppose like any other city does. But as I get older, I always come up with more disadvantages than advantages. The people that live here are crude and judgmental, as the same phrase goes with my generation. My generation of people are a tad worse. The age old saying of, 'If you aren't like me, then I'm not going to associate with you and pretend you're nothing,' is playing in their minds. Possibly whispering it every second of their natural born life.

It's quite pathetic, says the person who doesn't have enough guts to leave. I will someday.

I compare myself to a pure, innocent white dove that's been caged in for hours upon hours for some magician to show others his trick. Once the magician shows the trick, the dove flutters out of his white glove cladded hands setting it free. It needs to be free, it needs to go back to its habitat. But it keeps coming back for more, letting the magician have all the power.

Changing myself from the white dove that keeps coming back, I'm not coming back.

I'm being set free from this life.

I'll start a new slate.

It'll replace the dove metaphor to the magician metaphor.

I finally have control of my life.

That was when my dreamland dissolved into past memories.

That was the day reality came crashing down into my world.

I'm Bella Swan and this is my story of darkness turning into light.


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

* * *

It has been a year and a half since I packed my things from the little rainy town of Forks and drove across the country to New York City. I haven't looked back at the past, even though the foggy memories sometimes pester into my mind, but I keep myself busy as much as possible before they could bother me.

Before my big move, I went to the University of Washington to study Anthropology. However, my love for crime along with forensics got the best of me causing me to change my field of study. I moved on to Forensic Anthropology furthermore increasing my chance to make something out of me.

'Why didn't you stay in Seattle if you hate it here so much?' my mother, Renee, always questioned me. She doesn't quite know this, but I fell in love as well as the consequence made the decision for me not to stay. So, like any other scared little girl, I ran off to my home to my mommy and daddy. I didn't put my degree to use, yet, I did help my dad around the Police station.

My father, Charlie, was devastated over the fact that I was going to leave, "It's for the best," I told him including myself frequently.

The last time I checked on them to make sure everything was still intact was approximately around Thanksgiving, which was four months ago. Yeah, defiantly not getting the 'Daughter of the Year' award.

* * *

The day I arrived on New York soil I was so amazed, to me there was more advantages here than Forks. It was beautiful, the tall buildings surrounding me as I stared at them in awe, the air had this distinctive aura to it, the amounts of people that was crossing the streets, all of the shops that appear to be right there in a nice walking distance, the fact that a hot dog stand was around every corner; I was truly amazed. I still am to be honest with you, it's like an adventure that'll never end.

I put my résumé in different crime labs around the area, three months of not getting a job at any labs, my world came crashing down each time, nevertheless I didn't give up. Sure, working hard to get a degree in Forensic Anthropology was a difficult task however I completed that. Leaving Washington to New York, I had completed that, as well. I took my rose colored glasses off before and I can do it again.

Without a job, I needed to find a different one, sure I still put my résumé in every chance I got, though I still needed to pay rent. I worked 10 hours a day at the local library, of course the pay was terrible, but at least I had money to pay the rent so I wouldn't get kicked onto the streets.

Thankfully, I got a call from Johnny Crossings Crime Lab, they recently lost their previous Anthropologist and were counting their blessings when they saw that was my study. I took the job without blinking an eye plus the benefits were in my hand. Vacation breaks, insurance, along with making more than 30 dollars an hour, life was actually great for once. That was until my first day on the job. I didn't get that much respect that I have asked for, instead of going out in the field, I had to stay behind in the lab; taking everyone's lunch and drink orders. Instead of analyzing bones to find out what had happen, I had to file papers. Instead of putting murders away for life, I had to watch my colleagues do the things that I've dreamed of for years.

Of course, it hurt me each and every day that I walked into that lab. They were definitely not on the Welcoming committee and almost every day I had to fight back tears. Those days of doing nothing turned into weeks which in turn to months. Those months suddenly became years and before I knew it I've been doing nothing for about two and a half years.

I finally got a gigantic break when a new serial killer was above us. My previous colleagues was called away on a meeting, and once in my life at this lab, I was above grateful that they decided to leave me alone.

* * *

"Swan!" my boss's voice filled the lab, "I need you to head out with Agent McCarty." he told me, yanking his thumb behind him. I looked up from the ancient computer, trying my best to be nonchalant.

The fear in the pit of my stomach took control over the giddiness. The guy behind my boss was huge! My boss was standing at a pretty average height, maybe 5'11'' , I was naïve to think that he was tall, the guy behind him was at least 6'5''. His biceps bulge around his black t-shirt, reminding me of the Incredible Hulk. I stood up from my roller chair smoothing out my pants, I walked over to where they were, my eyes probably still wide-eyed, yet I couldn't take them off the guy. I instantly felt myself blush and broke the contact.

"Emmett McCarty," the titan said to me, raising his bulk of a hand. I raised my tiny one to his, his fingers wrapping around mine, a smile brought up to his face, giving me a glimpse of a dimple. His baby blue eyes were connected to my brown ones, it was like I knew that he is a gentle giant.

"Isabella Swan, but please call me Bella." I told him, his smile was contagious. I could feel myself smiling along with him, except he wasn't blushing as red as a tomato.

"Glad introductions are out of the way," my boss made known. If it was any possible my face got redder, Giant..err..Emmett, let out a howl of laughter. My boss, shook his head then continue on; ignoring Emmett. "As I was going to say, there's been a call that a pedestrian found a body at the corner of 39th street behind BooksGalore, you two need to go out there and figure out what's going on." he told us, walking away.

After he left us alone, my face was finally returning back to normal. That was until Giant opened his big pie-hole, "Were you playing Solitude?" he asked me, messing with my swivel chair.

"What's it to you," I retorted back, grabbing my bag from my desk. The one thing that I could say during the two and a half years of not doing anything, I was sort of grateful of having my own personal space.

"I'm pretty sure you were losing anyways," he grumbled back to me.

I rolled my eyes at him, causing him to stick his tongue out at me. Great, my first murder case and I'll be babysitting instead of tracking down psychopaths.

* * *

We finally arrived at the scene of the crime, Giant and I got out of his oversize Escalade. The both of us walked over to the scene, him lifting the yellow police tape with big bolded black lettering, 'DO NOT CROSS' it read. I'm crossing, I thought along with a giggle that escaped my mouth.

"Wow, Morticia, I would have never guess that you got off on crime scenes," Emmett remarked at my inappropriate giggle.

I shook my head, not even trying to redeem myself at the mistake. I took the scenery in. I squatted down, in a way that I was leveled to the carcass that once was a human being that had life in its eyes, not there was even eyeballs to look at the life that was once there.

I pulled out a pair of blue latex gloves out of my bag, strategically placing them on my hands. The body had been burnt very badly, from what type of fluids or why, I don't know. I knew for fact, however, that the cadaver was burnt alive. The post mortem was setting in and the fingers was set in this rigid form. Like the person was trying to claw themselves out of something.

I smiled widely to myself, my dream finally came through. Sorry you had to get murdered for it to come true though. I silently said to myself.

"Yo, Morticia, I'm going to go question the pedestrian, you'll be okay here?" Giant asked me, I nodded towards him, waving my hand to tell him to go. He chuckled at me, "Wipe that smile off your face, it looks creepy," I blushed once more.

Other than the police officer that stood in the opening of the alley way, another person was there with me. She was a tiny little thing. "Sorry about Emmett with his nicknames," she told me, holding up a chunk of what was to be part of muscle. The elf put it in a petri dish, wiping her hands on her jeans she stuck her hand out. "I'm Alice Brandon," she told me. "Bella Swan," I stated back. "Emmett doesn't bother me, he's more welcoming than the others," I told her.

"Give it a month."

I let out a laugh then continue on what I was suppose to be doing.

* * *

After Alice left with the body, I sighed, this is what it's going to be. I'm going to like it. I packed up my things, looking around just in case I missed anything when a paper caught my eye. Since I already threw my gloves away I took forceps out of the side of my bag gently picking up of the fragile looking thing.

Carefully, opening the folded rectangle there was elegant print written in perfect cursive. I couldn't make out what it said, so I stepped into a lighter area.

Eerily silence over head the area where I was standing at. I was the only person there at the scene, Emmett still questioning the potential suspect. I could hear the faint heartbeat in my ears, my hands trembling as I read the note out loud:

_"Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires."_

Shakespeare's very own Macbeth.

Okay, seriously, what are the odds of the dumping of the body was behind a random book store? I slid the note into an evidence bag, quickly finding Emmett before it got late.

* * *

The car ride back to the lab I was a bundle of nerves. It's been an exhausting day, my first real case, my first possible real friend at this lab, I found a clue, and not to mention I was hungry for something crispy.

We finally got back to the lab where I hauled myself to the morgue in search of my boney skeleton. I was too busy not paying attention to the surroundings next to me that once the elevator dinged I accidentally ran into a person.

"I'm so sorry," I chided to the person that I ran into.

"Yeah, watch where you're going next time then," a velvety voice snapped at me.

Before I could say any remark back he was gone, all I saw was some funky color hair with a white lab coat floating in the distance.

The elevator ride from the entrance to the morgue was short. I enter the chilly room, to find Alice working on it already.

"Hi, Alice." I casually said, getting suited up for the explanation of death for our mystery person.

"Bella," she warmly smiled at me.

"What do we know so far?" I asked her looking at the skeleton.

"Well, the obvious is that our Doe was burnt, alive or not, I'm not sure."

"The Doe was alive when they endure this kind of pain," I responded, "that would explain the rigid of their fingers from being bent." I took a closer look, "the fingernails, they look chipped and-"

"Overdone?" Alice suggested.

I laughed at that statement, but shook my head no. "They look worn out, like how someone would look from digging their way out of something."

Alice nodded and scrapped some residue from the thumb nail.

Bella let Alice be because the note that was in her pocket was weighing her down.

"Bella, before you leave can you do me a favor and drop these off to Cullen?" Alice asked me, her eyes pointing in the direction of samples from the body.

"Um, sure." I agreed and picked up the dishes careful not to drop any.

"Thanks!" she yelled after me, before the elevator doors closed shut.

I had no idea who Cullen was. I nervously asked the lady who was at the front desk, she told me that his lab was down the third wing hall, seventh door to the right.

I traveled down the hall counting the doors as I went by.

I knocked on the open door, and went in when I heard a faint ''come in".

Suddenly the little piece of paper that was in my pocket didn't weigh a hundred pounds anymore.

* * *

A/N: Now entering Edward! Good? Bad? Terrible? Ugly? Made your eyes bleed into your skull? Please leave a review?

Thank you!


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